The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
by SalemAnderson
Summary: Post-movie. Companion piece to my story "Alone Again, Naturally" although it can stand alone just fine. After everything Megamind and Roxanne have been through together, has anything really changed?


**a/n: You can thank LasersAndSpikes for leaving a review to "Alone Again, Naturally," saying "****I'd love a kind of sequel where he actually tells her more about himself."**** So, here you go. I hope I don't disappoint.**

Post-movie. Companion piece to my story "Alone Again, Naturally" although it can stand alone just fine. After everything Megamind and Roxanne have been through together, has anything really changed?

Disclaimer: Don't own Megamind, although I wish I did, because I'd have put out a sequel by now! Thank you Dreamworks for these wonderful characters I like to play with now and then!

**The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same**

Megamind slouched in his high-backed black leather chair, resting his considerable head against the upturned fist of his left arm. His cape was discarded on the floor next to the control boards along with the spiked collar and gloves so he could slouch comfortably in the seat. The fake observatory he had constructed had become a favorite place for him to go and think after his time in City Hall had come to an end. He and Minion had not relocated the monitoring station from the dome on top and he rather liked the view over the lake at night. He alternated between staring outside and watching the bank of monitors in front of him displaying the cameras he had set up all over town to monitor everything earlier that evening.

Life was certainly one for the extreme shifts. Just six months ago, he'd sat in the same chair, depressed at how Destiny had thrown him into a life of only being teased with what he thought his heart desired while keeping it just out of reach; namely finally beating the hero and proving he was actually the better man, at everything, especially in the eyes of a certain reporter. Then he'd lamented how Fate gave and denied him the beautiful captive he could take any time he wanted, but could never truly keep. Since that time, he had realized that Fate was an excuse and Destiny is what you make it, and ultimately what happened in his life was controlled by his choices and not some cosmic power that determined everything in advance. He had since seized control of his Destiny in regards to his choice of career, and become the hero for the damsel and protector of the city he'd once terrorized.

He returned his gaze to the lights of the city, lost in his thoughts about his damsel. Roxanne was still a mystery to him. She did not appear to hate him, although she had reason to after what he'd pulled. Sure, the disguise had begun as an act of desperation, but once he'd realized she might have actually been falling for him, he should have told her the truth right then, no matter the cost to himself. But he had been selfish, not willing to give her up. Whatever his reasoning was, she deserved better than to be deceived in order to gain her affection. He didn't intend to ever deceive her again if she would let him be in her life. That remained to be seen, despite what she'd said on live television and the momentary celebration after the big idiot was powerless and lying on the ground.

A view of the prison brought his attention back to the rotating images on the monitors. Hal had been safely incarcerated earlier in the evening and he had spoken with the Mayor and accepted a temporary release from prison under the condition that it was his responsibility to clean up and repair the damage to the city; and he had to defend the city from attacks by villains until a more permanent agreement could be made. By the time that was all said and done, Roxanne was nowhere to be found. He assumed she'd gone home and had done the same. He sighed as he saw her crystal blue eyes in his mind again, the way they looked when she smiled up at him after revealing him in the center of the city; that look in her eyes made him feel like she loved him. He knew it was unlikely that's what she had meant, but his heart foolishly clung to the small hope in spite of himself.

He felt a breeze through the open doors and looked out at the section of city lights he could see from his position. She was probably curled up in her bed at that moment, safely in her apartment, safely away from him. He knew he'd had no right to expect her to even talk to him when he'd gone to her apartment before defeating Titan, and he certainly had no significant reason to believe anything had changed since then. But, he still wished he was with her. He wished she wanted him to be there more than anything else, but she had made her feelings in that respect known loud and clear. She would never be with him.

His reverie was interrupted when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned back to the monitors. When he looked at the clock on the monitor and saw that it was three in the morning, he was most surprised to see a figure approaching the secret entrance. Even in the shadows, he could recognize the curvaceous form of Roxanne Ritchi. He hurried down the lift to the main level of the lair, approaching the same secret entrance she had just walked through. "Hi there," she said, her eyes bright and a smile on her face.

"Uh, hi?" His thin arms crossed over his chest and she clasped her hands behind her back, nervously looking at him. He felt somewhat naked without his gloves, cape and collar, but at least he still had his boots and holster belt, even though the gun was sitting on the desk. She wore a light blue v-neck fitted tee-shirt and dark jeans. She looked so beautiful like this; of course, she looked beautiful to him no matter what she wore. She also looked more nervous than he had originally thought. And that made him more nervous.

"Roxanne, um…what are you doing here? It's three in the morning." He paused for a moment and then realized that the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel in any way unwelcome in his home, regardless of the time of night. "Um, not that I mind that you are here, I'm glad that you are, but aren't you usually asleep at this time of night?"

"Oh, I uh, I couldn't sleep." She looked at the ground and kept talking. He could barely hear her quiet voice, but he listened hard to be sure that he heard every word she said. It warmed his lonely heart just a little to know that, "I just kept thinking about you and wondering if you were okay after the beating you took earlier. I was so worried I got up out of bed and sort of found myself over here."

"I'm actually almost completely healed now, so you didn't need to worry." He shrugged. He could not figure out why she was really there; there was no way she had come here at such a ridiculous hour simply because she was worried about him. And, she hadn't answered his question exactly.

"Too late." She smiled nervously at him again, shuffling her feet in the opening of the large cabinet that marked this entrance from the inside. "So, are you going to invite me in or what?"

"Oh, I uh, sorry. Would you like to come in? I can, er, give you a tour." He stepped to the side and held out his hand to her. She placed hers in his, making him suddenly very happy that he was not wearing his gloves. He looked at their hands and then in her eyes. She squeezed his hand and stepped toward him. Something was familiar but different about her.

"Okay, lead the way." Her smile was genuine, and he wanted nothing more than to keep that smile right there. He led her to the observatory to start his tour in the place with which she was most familiar. Belatedly, he thought about the kidnapping chair, but was relieved to see that Minion had moved it out of the way.

She giggled when she realized where she was. The telescope door was still open to the crisp night air and he took her outside on the balcony. She dropped his hand, and stepped forward to hold the balcony rail and look around, smiling to herself. He walked up next to her and leaned on the rail, looking out at the view himself. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth, "I think I see why you decided to keep this here. It is beautiful, really, with the lake and the stars and all. Very romantic." The darkened area to the left with stars visible overhead and the sporadic lights dotting the cityscape to the right made a beautiful contrast. The city lights sparkling in the rippling water of the lake had an almost magical quality.

Megamind happily explained, "I intend to finish it properly, once the city is repaired. I have ordered a real telescope too. If I am going to have an observatory, I might as well use it. Astronomy was a hobby of mine as a child."

"I imagine so." She shivered a little in the cold early morning wind blowing off the lake and he felt an almost overwhelming urge to wrap her in his arms and make her warm again, but he resisted, unsure as to how it would be received.

"Would you like to go back inside where it's warmer?"

"Sure. You can finish my tour," she said with a smile as she turned toward him and away from the scenery. He returned her smile and followed her inside, then led her to the lift. As they rode it back down to the main level of the lair, her hand found its way into his and she interlaced their fingers. He did not let go of her hand as he led her to his idea room, showed her Minion's kitchen, the door to Minion's domain, the garage and eventually wound up in the media room. He'd kept one of the larger storage rooms in the industrial plant/warehouse he occupied to use as a home theater. Instead of rows of seats, he had it set up like a living room, only he had longer couches and two overstuffed recliners, all black leather, and all arranged in a loose open square, facing the far wall. A large screen was attached to that wall, and all of the walls were painted black.

The only room he did not show her was his bedroom. He didn't feel that it was appropriate, at least not yet. Little did he know, that's where most guys would end the tour. As she took in the atmosphere in the room, he led her to one of the couches and offered her a seat. She gladly took it and motioned for him to sit down next to her. He did and she still did not let go of his hand. "I know it is a little early in the morning, but can we talk?"

"What about?"

"I don't know; I just feel like I need to talk to you. And, I still want to know more about you, Megamind. That's as good a place to start as any, I think." She was very nervous, which made him very intrigued and nervous at the same time.

"Oh. Well, what do you want to know?" She came here to interview him? Maybe she was just trying to break the ice. He decided to hope for that even though he knew it was a foolish gesture.

"Everything!"

His eyes widened as he regarded her open expression. "That's a broad subject, Roxanne. Can you narrow it down a bit?" She looked away and he felt hopelessness begin to sink in. He panicked and in a moment of desperation, squeezed her hand and implored, "Why don't you just ask me about whatever it is that you are curious about right now and we'll go from there?"

She returned her eyes to his and he smiled. "I guess the obvious question is how old are you?"

"Thirty-five." He tried to keep himself from sounding disappointed as he had hoped she wanted to know more personal things about him than just his age.

"Oh. Wow, you seem much younger than that." What did she mean by that? Did she think him immature, childish? That would explain why she couldn't see him as a potential suitor.

"Do I?"

"Yes. Maybe it's all your energy. I certainly don't feel that energized at thirty-five."

"You don't?"

"No, except when I am around you. Your energy is infectious! I love that about you, you know." He smiled widely at her and she returned the expression, then scrunched her eyebrows together, "Wait! I thought I was supposed to be the one asking the questions."

"Oh sorry. Go ahead." She laughed her beautiful symphonic laugh and he almost melted on the spot.

"Okay. So, what made you decide to become a villain?"

"Wow. From age to life story that fast?" She laughed again briefly. He loved making her do that; the sound of her laughter did wonderful things to his heart.

"I'm nothing if not efficient at getting to the point," she said with a smirk. Then she raised her eyebrow in challenge, "Are you going to answer my question or not?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly in a vain effort to remove her spell from his cloudy mind before he responded finally, "Oh, yes. Why I became a super villain. That, my dear, was my destiny, or so I thought before."

"Destiny?"

"Yes. My father told me just before they shot me into space that I had a destiny although I didn't hear what exactly. So, life became Destiny, and the way everything happened, becoming a villain seemed like the logical result. When Wayne's pod deflected mine away from the life that he gained and into the life I was granted, it became apparent that he was going to be my rival for life. When we met in _shool_ and I saw how he was already playing hero, I realized then that I was going to eventually be a super villain. The other students and the teacher ostracized me when I just wanted to impress them so they would like me. Metro 'Boy,' as he called himself then, turned the entire class including the teacher against me, and no matter what I did or whose fault any accident actually was, it was always my fault." He paused and looked around the media room anxiously. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.

He smiled nervously but continued, "All of that in combination with being told I was bad simply because I lived at the prison, well, it only served to reinforce my belief that I was supposed to be the evil to his good. It didn't matter that the things he did to me were wrong, everyone saw him as good and me as bad, and no one would be friends with the bad boy. Oh, I had Minion as a friend of course, always. But the outright rejection I faced from the first small minded group of people outside the prison I had ever met, when I always had nothing at heart but good intentions, eventually made me snap and finally embrace my destiny."

She had stayed quiet through the entire story. He could see her eyes glistening with the threat of tears. She squeezed his hand and said, "I wish I had known you then. I would have been your friend."

"I wonder if you would have made as big of a difference then as you have now," he said absently as if he had been thinking it and said it unintentionally.

"I like to think I would have," her comment told him that she'd heard his thoughts. He smiled at her nervously again and then looked away to watch as he flicked the leather cord that ran along the edge of the couch cushion with the fingers of his free hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her staring down at their hands, still intertwined, and resting between them on the couch. After a long silent moment of watching her examining their differences, he looked back at her and asked quietly, "So, do you have any more questions?"

"Have I really made that much of an impact on your life?" her question seemed to catch her off guard as much as it did him, so he felt more comfortable answering it honestly than he would have if she had asked nonchalantly.

"Undeniably. I was lost until you ran into my life. Literally." She made a face and he explained further, "Yes, I know I have been abducting you for years, but it didn't really feel like you were part of my life until after that night at the museum, when you ran into me as I assumed the identity of the rather unfortunate curator. The detonator was already set; I had to get you out of there, so I disguised myself because I knew you wouldn't have trusted me otherwise. And I would not have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to you that night."

He should have expected her next question since he had opened the flood gates with his need to explain everything. She was silent for a long moment as was he, and then she suddenly blurted out, "But, why did you keep pretending to be Bernard?"

He looked away from her pointedly, embarrassed to the core. Then he tried to explain, "I uh…I never intended to use the disguise again after that night, but when you showed up at the Lair that next week, you called _Ber-nahrd_. I assumed the disguise again so I could get you out of here. Then you hugged me. It was the first hug I had ever received. And I was hooked on you from that moment onward, for better or worse."

"After one hug?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Well, I did say that it was my first hug, didn't I?" She giggled and nodded. He smiled in return and continued, "Truthfully, I've never had anyone other than you or Minion touch me for any reason other than violence or punishment or both."

"That's so sad. I'm so, so sorry, Megamind, for never really trying to get to know you better before now, and for the horrible things I said to you last night in the rain."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Roxanne. I've never let anyone get to know me before you. Minion's known me my whole life and even he doesn't know me like you do. I've never been able to really be myself except for when I am with you. I am truly sorry for the deception I thought necessary, and I know that I deserve no less than what you said to me last night."

"You know what? I don't even care about any of that anymore. I accept your apology for pretending to be someone else. I understand why you did it, and I am sorry to have to agree that it may have been necessary for us to get to know each other better, at least at first. I wouldn't have believed it wasn't a scheme if you had just changed all of a sudden and turned into mister nice guy after Wayne quit. I have to say, though, that I am pretty flattered that you wanted to be with me so much that you went to such an extreme to make it happen. No one has ever put forth that much effort into trying to be with me."

"I must say that is an unexpected response. Your reaction in the rain was more realistic."

"Can't you just take a compliment?" she teased him. He chuckled nervously. Then an uncomfortable silence settled between them. He felt a little lost as to what to say next. She didn't seem like she wanted to keep talking, or at least, there was nothing else she wanted to ask him at that moment. He began to panic when she started to squirm a little on the couch. She seemed to notice the panic attack him and suggested they go for a walk again, back through the lair. He agreed, glad for something to break the tension that had planted itself between them.

The morning had advanced to the point that the sun was likely almost visible over the horizon and he suggested they move back up to the balcony to watch the morning colors as the sun came up, although they would not be able to see the actual sunrise. She thought that was the perfect place to go at that moment, so she agreed heartily. The morning chill still lingered when they stepped through the opening into the air. She leaned against him unconsciously, feeling heat radiating from his skinny body. "Now that I think back on it all, I am glad that the man I was falling for was actually you, despite your lie, because my feelings make a lot more sense now than they did before I knew. I'm glad you were not hurt permanently from Tighten's attacks. And, I'm glad you are still you."

"Well, I don't know what I did to deserve you in my life, but I am so grateful for it. Just having this opportunity to really know you, even if it was just for a short time, it made me the happiest man alive!" Perhaps she would let him remain her friend, and then he would at least still have her in his life in a way.

She interrupted his train of thought by placing her hands on his shoulders. She looked him in the eyes and said, "Megamind, you silly spaceman, in case you missed what I just said, I am not going anywhere." He was still confused, so she left nothing to interpretation, "I love you too much to just give you up over a stupid misunderstanding."

She did? "You do?"

"Yes, I do!" she practically yelled at him. He believed she hated him so easily, so why did he have so much trouble believing the opposite? He almost opened his mouth to say something when she continued in a quiet voice, "I just hope you haven't given up on me."

He was silent for a long moment as his brain processed the new and almost unfathomable information she'd just laid on him. Roxanne shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other as the silence dragged on. Finally, he said quietly, "Wow. I never really let myself believe that you would return my feelings." He placed his hands on her face gently and looked into her eyes as he said, "I love you Roxanne. You are the best thing that ever happened to me! I couldn't give up on you, ever. And, I never will."

"That's probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." She stepped forward into his personal space and wrapped her arms around his spike-free shoulders. She hugged him close and his arms wrapped possessively around her waist. "I am so glad you let me in," she said as she nuzzled her nose along the side of his neck making chills of pleasure run down his spine, "because now that I know what I would be missing, being without you is just not acceptable."

"I am so happy that you feel that way. I was really not sure how I was going to survive giving you up again," he said as he inhaled her scent and memorized the feeling of her in his arms. After several moments of reveling in her closeness, he said into the silence, "So, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yep!" She pulled back away from him enough to catch his eyes with her own, then leaned forward and placed her lips on his in a gentle kiss. He stuttered for a moment before his brain re-engaged and he responded appropriately. He kissed her back with the same gentleness she showed him, although he feared he got a little overzealous because she pulled away from him. She looked in his eyes, then back at his lips. She ran one hand around across the back of his skull and around to caress his jaw underneath his ear. "Mmmm," she mumbled as she closed the gap between them again and parted her lips enough to capture his lower lip momentarily causing him to open his own mouth.

"Temptress," he muttered against her mouth. She moaned in response and then covered his mouth with hers, allowing him to taste her, as their tongues wrestled together. Her hand held his face close to her and he took full advantage to kiss her as deeply as she would allow. She seemed to want him to kiss her as much as possible. He was happy to oblige. His heart felt like it was going to flutter out of his chest. One of her hands came around to caress the side of his face and he leaned into her hand as his own hand came up to hold the back of her head. Her other hand began to move along the back of his skull and caress his neck which elicited a moan from his lips against hers.

They remained lost in each other for a long while, hugging, kissing, whispering, snuggling and generally loving each other. It was in such a state that Minion found them. Megamind almost didn't hear the quiet "Sir?" coming from inside the dome. He pulled back from his love far enough to catch her attention. She smiled at him and he kissed her once more before turning and leading her back inside the building. They entered the room holding hands and walking close together.

"Good morning, Minion!" he said with greater than usual exuberance.

"Good morning, Sir; Miss Ritchi," the fish responded politely. It was comical how confused he looked at that moment. He wished he had been recording so he could have played it back for his friend later. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but may I ask why you are here, Miss Ritchi?"

She giggled and glanced briefly at the man standing next to her, giving his hand a squeeze before she replied, "I just came to get back something I thought I'd lost. I found it, though, and I don't think I will ever lose it again."


End file.
